Self-storing alighting board for beehives



Dec. 2, 1969 BAUDER 3,480,977

SELF-STORING ALIGHTING BOARD FOR BEEHIVES Filed Nov. 28, 1966 FRANCIS H. BAUDER.

ATTORNEY.

United States Patent M 3,480,977 SELF-STORING ALIGHTING BOARD FOR BEEHIVES Francis H. Bauder, Flint, Mich. (Rte. 1, Coleman, Mich. 48618) Filed Nov. 28, 1966, Ser. No. 601,819 Int. Cl. A01k 47/00, 47/06 U.S. C]. 6-1 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates generally to beehive and more particularly to an improved alighting board attached to the bottom board.

It is generally known that any hive which is placed off the ground more than a few inches should have an alighting board, and hives on benches should not be without them.

An alighting board is very desirous especially during the early spring months when weary chilled worker bees are apt to perish in those last few feet to safety with their precious load.

Typical construction of alighting boards in the prior art are simple boards of lumber, asphalt shingles and the like supported by hinges or wires attached to the bottom board that are cumbersome to install and remove when not in use.

It is the primary object of my invention to provide a self-storing alighting board simply installed within a standard bottom board readily available for immediate use.

It is another object of my invention to provide an alighting board that is easily assembled from standard hardware components.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an expandable hinging means for an alighting board to compensate for variances in manufactured bottom boards.

It is likewise an object of my invention to provide a hinging means for an alighting board which serves in the support of the board and keeps the outer edge thereof off the ground to prevent insects from crawling up the board to the hive and further to allow spraying of the ground about and under the board.

The accomplishment of these and other objects are achieved in the illustrated embodiment by providing channel members running longitudinally along each side of the bottom board which is used in conjunction with the hives, another channel member to the outer edge of the alighting board, and a pair of rods. These rods are suitably located to form sliding guides and also serve as a support for the alighting board when in position for use. Portions of these rods form along with the channel member on the outer edge of the board a hinge upon which the board may be moved from its stored horizontal position to the oblique in use position. All channel members have an interior section wherein the rods are situated and an exterior section for wherein an edge of the board resides.

The objects of this invention as well as further objects and advantages, will become apparent from the description and drawings hereunder selected to illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a conventional beehive embodying the present invention.

3,480,977 Patented Dec. 2, 1969 FIGURE 2 is an enlarged exploded sectional view of the lower portions of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 3 is a front view of a conventional beehive embodying the present invention.

FIGURE 4 is a bottom view of a conventional beehive embodying the present invention and shows the alighting-board in its stored position.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, FIGURE 1 shows a beehive assembly 11 with the hive box 13 resting upon side boards 15 and a bottom board 17. In the preferred embodiment of my invention, I provide an alighting board 19 for use with a standard hive 13 and side boards 15, bottom board 17 assembly.

The alighting board 1'9 may be of any material such as wood, fiberboard, plastic, metal, or the like. In my embodiment I have selected for this use inch tempered Masonite board of approximately 14 inches in width and 10 /2 inches in length. To the outboard end of my alighting board 19 I affix an aluminum sash rail 21, which may be of other suitable material, and secure it thereto by any suitable means such as screws or rivets 27. The sash rail 21 maybe A inch in depth and approximately 13 inches in length with an inner compartment or channel 23 and an outer compartment or channel 25.

In addition I provide a pair of sash rails 29 which are of the same construction as the sash rail 21 and affixed on each side of bottom board17, as shown in FIG- URES 3 and 4, abutting the respective corners made by the bottom board 17 with each side rail 15. The sash rails 29 may be secured by any suitable means. I employed screws or rivets, not shown. Openings 31 are suitably located in each of the sash rails 29 for access to enable the placing of screws or rivets that are employed to afiix the sash rails 29 to the bottom board 17.

My alighting board assembly is completed by a pair of rods 33 which may be & inch of suitable length and such that can be journaled Within the respective inner compartments or channels 23 of sash rails 21 and 29. The short section 37 of each rod 33 is journaled within the inner compartment or channel 23 of sash rail 21 and has a length of less than half the width of the alighting board 19. The long section 35 of each rod is journalled within respective inner compartments or channels 23 of sash rails 29. With this construction the rods 33 may be laterally adjusted into proper position and compensate for slight dimensional variances in any bottom board 17.

As can be seen from the drawings, the alighting board 17 is stored, shown by FIGURE 4, available for use at any desired time. When in use, shown by FIGURE 1, it is easily slipped into its position resting upon the bottom board 17 and obtains further support from the rods 33 which reside within their respective inner compartments or channels 23 of sash rails 21 and 29.

Various other advantages and applications will occur to those skilled in the art and while I have described a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood the invention is not limited thereto since it may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the following claims:

I claim:

1. In a beehive, a self-storing alighting board assembly comprising:

(a) a bottom board,

(b) a pair of side boards each attached on opposite sides of said bottom board,

(c) a first pair of channel rails each having therein a pair of juxtaposed inner and outer channels extending longitudinally and each secured on opposite sides of said bottom board and abutting the respec tive side board,

3 (d) a second channel rail having therein a pair of juxtaposed inner and outer channels extending longitudinally and secured to said alighting board at its cutboard end and said outboard end resting within said outer channel, and

(e) a pair of rods each having a short section at right angles to a long section and each of said short sections extending into opposite ends within the inner channel of said second channel rail and each of said long section extending into respective inner channels of each of said first channel rails.

2. In a beehive having a bottom board and side boards,

a self-storing alighting board assembly comprising:

(a) a first member having therein a pair of juxtaposed inner and outer channels extending longitudinally and said alighting board secured at its outboard end within said outer channel of said first rail member,

(b) a pair of second members each having therein a pair of juxtaposed inner and outer channels extending longitudinally, each of said second rail members secured on an opposing sides of said bottom board, and

(c) a rod extending into said inner channel of said first member and said inner channel in each of said second members, whereby said alighting board rests within the outer channel in each of said second members in its stored position and is supported by said second members and said rod when placed in position of use. 10 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 117,690 8/1871 Sawyer 64 X 1,535,920 4/1925 Ionian 6-1 l5 LUCIE H. LAUDENSLAGER, Primary Examiner US. or. X.R. 64 20 

